Blogging- In general

Please click on the video clip above. As you can see, there is a lot to blogging. I used to think that it was just for people to sit around and write online, like a journal. However, there is so much more to it. I keep finding more and more that I like about it. I wish I was able to do this with my students because this is a type of technology that students would enjoy. Many students have difficulty participating in class, but with blogging, they would be more apt to participating online with a blog. It is a little intimidating for new-time users, but with some training, many people would quickly adapt to the technology it has to offer.

I'm so glad that this was one of our projects because otherwise I would not have tried keeping my own blog. I used to think it was a waste of time, but I'm finding that it is easier for myself to write down or upload examples so that I can remember what technologies I have been using; in the future I could do the same with my students. However, I need the AACPS blog training first.

Many other eudcators and writers have thoughts about the benefits or negatives of blogs. For example, Tom Johnson, a technical writer from NIU write in his blog I'd Rather Be Writing a number of comments and links to articles in regards to his thoughts about blogging. This blog may spark your interest as well.

To use Google or Not to use Google- that is the question...

I decided to include a Google Form from Google Docs when I worked on my Critical Literacy Project for ET 630. I found it somewhat difficult to complete. Not because the technology was difficult to use, but because there is a wide variety of questions that students can be asked in this form. There are not just short answer or multiple choice that students are accustomed to because of standardized testing. This form allows checkboxes, true or false, multiple choice, and more to use as questions. Due to this fact, I had more options for the students to answer as a question, so it was difficult for me to decide what questions to ask the students.

I only had a few difficult technology problems because I could not figure out how to upload it in the survey form instead of the spreadsheet form (which it automatically does for you). Thankfully, the spreadsheet option is calculated for you when it is submitted. This is a nice feature for teachers because I can easily keep track of data. Too many times I try to develop a formative assessment to determine how much re-teaching I need to provide for my students or what kind of enrichment my students need for different concepts. This is very time consuming for planning, but if collaborated with other teachers as well, one formative assessment can be given and receive data results quickly using the Google Form. I hope to use this with my students prior to testing, including using it as a form of pre-testing throughout the upcoming school year.

View this Google Form.

Love my Wiki!

I am really enjoying my wikispace. I keep finding different things that I can use it for with my students. For example, I decided to include my wikispace within the Critical Information Literacy Project for ET630. My students would be able to reply on the discussion board concerning which website they believed was the most credible website for their posed guiding question.

Also, I was able to add pages on to my wikispace so that I can organize each section of the wikispace for my students. This way my students are able to easily access each assignment or piece of information with whatever topic we are discussing in class. I think that if the wikispace is organized well, my students will be able to review items or access their homework quickly. Currently I use a Blackboard account through the county/ school where students access their homework assignments. I am able to upload documents onto the Blackboard websites, but unless my students understand to click and keep clicking to find the uploaded documents, they are unaware that they are posted on the site. I think that organizing separate pages with the wikispace can show the students that they are able to access anything that they need for class.

Although I find a blog to be very effective in collaborating and discovering new ideas from classmates, it is VERY time consuming at first. I find myself not bothering to look or post items on my blog until I remember to do so, which can sometimes be several days. I think that this is one of the downfalls if students attempt to use blogs. Students can be very forgetful and if students are not consistently thinking of their blog and posting academic information on it, they will lose focus on the purpose of the blog.

I do think that this blog has helped me to become much more organized in my thoughts and notes. I have organized each technology that I wish to post information on in order to ensure that I am completing my blog appropriately. I think this would work for a lot of students as well. I constantly run in to students that are so disorganized that it is the main reason why they fail or struggle in a class. Just because they cannot find a piece of paper, that they KNOW they completed, they lose the grade. Keeping a blog of their thoughts and notes on various topics in a class, can help disorganized students maintain organization and teach them those skills for life.

Cool and Free!

So on one of the websites that we were using in class had a link to a "create your own free website" using Wix.

I really like it so far, but I've only used it for 5 minutes. You may want to check out the website....

I have found also that a number of educators use Wix as their source for a website, similar to tiny url. This is an example of an educator that uses this website source as to how she built her own website.

WHOA! My first post...

Well, so far, I am vey excited about this class. I hope that we can share a lot of information about the online technologies that we could use in our classroom. I think I may end up setting up a blog for my students for next year. but of course, AACPS needs us to complete a course on it.